Mindful Leadership 101

For the last couple of years, the term “mindfulness” has gained increasing popularity
in the public space. Until 2013-2014 it was known and used in Romania by very few,
mostly those who were familiar with meditation.
This accelerated increase in interest towards mindfulness generated an influx of
information on the subject, not to mention a whole host of courses and services on
this topic, making it all the more important for us to separate the wheat from the
chaff.
In this article I will approach several topics and questions that frequently appear in
conversations I have with participants in my Mindful Leadership programs.
The first is “What is mindfulness?”. It’s an important question because, as
Socrates suggests, we need to clarify the meanings of the words we use. With regard
to the word “mindfulness”, there are two meanings:
• A mental state characterized by the capacity to intentionally observe what I
think while I am thinking, to feel (emotions, bodily sensations) while I am
feeling them, without judging oneself and without letting yourself be
distracted by these thoughts / sensations / emotions
• A set of meditative practices that aim to cultivate the mental state of
mindfulness described above
To put it more succinctly, to be mindful means to cultivate our capacity to connect
and live in the present moment, fully, consciously aware of what we are thinking and
feeling, without letting ourselves be distracted by thoughts about the past or future.
Another frequent question is “What is meditation and how many types of
meditation are there?”
According to the linguists, the word “meditation” comes from the Sanskrit “dhyana”
– training the mind. If we were to use a comparison, saying that “I meditate” is like
saying that “I practice sports”. There are 46 categories of Olympic sports, some of
them having various subcategories. It’s the same with meditation.
There are meditative practices for focus, analytical ones, for contemplation, with
visualizations, ones aimed at obtaining an extended state of consciousness etc. That
is why it is essential (even mandatory for our own health and safety) to ensure that
we have a clear and correct understanding of the purpose for which a certain
meditation practice was created. And that we are initiated in it by someone who has a
deep understanding of that particular practice and not just a superficial one.
When it comes to meditative practices such as mindfulness, their purposes are, as I
mentioned before, to help us connect as fully as possible to the Present moment, by
keeping our attention focused on what exists / what is happening in the HERE and
NOW, without any sort of expectation.

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Among the meditations which fall in the mindfulness category we have focus
meditation (aimed at breathing and your senses), body scan, walking
meditation and meditations to foster positive emotions such as kindness and
compassion (metta meditation).
Another important aspect is “How we meditate and for how much.”
Here things are very clear: frequency is more important than
duration. Especially at the beginning. It is better to practice as often as possible
(ideally on a daily basis) even for short periods of time. For example, it’s better to
meditate for 5-10 minutes a day, than twice a week for 15 minutes.
Plus, a combination that really works for most is alternating between 5-10 minutes of
“formal” meditation with 10-15 minutes of “informal” practice such as 5 minutes of
mindful eating, 10 minutes of mindful walking and, if we are driving, doing it in a
mindful way (without listening to the radio, talking on the phone and so on).
Another question which gets asked is “How are mindfulness practices
different from relaxation exercises?”
The similarities are superficial, because the purpose of mindfulness practices is not
to help us feel better or relax (this is a secondary effect), but to help us gain control of
our own mind, who otherwise dominates us.
It’s very important to understand this distinction and, just like with any other
activity, it is essential that we have a clear understanding of what we want to achieve
and then find the ways through which we can do it. That is why, I personally don’t
recommend associating mindfulness meditation with any sort of recreational activity
or rest activity.
In order to understand the relevance and utility of cultivating mindfulness in an
organizational context, I suggest you read „Mindful Business” by David Gelles.

Mihai Popa-Radu
Associate Partner, Key2Success, Leadership Development & Coaching

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